Switchblades and Cigarettes
by TheGirlWithKaleidoscopeEyes
Summary: It was that glorious summer between tenth grade and eleventh grade, and I had no idea that my life was about to get turned completely on its head.
1. Chapter 1

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter One**

**Disclaimer-** I do not own The Outsiders, they are the miraculous creation of SE Hinton.

It was that glorious summer between tenth grade and eleventh grade, and I had no idea that my life was about to get turned completely on its head.

"Moving!?" I questioned, astonished that my parents were even considering this.

"Yes, dear," my mother said in her usual calm tone. That really bugged me. I hated how her voice didn't change between saying we're moving and saying we're having spaghetti for dinner. "I'm afraid we have to."

"But why?" I asked, pleadingly.

"Because we simply don't have the money to keep the farm," she explained in that same annoyingly calm tone. "There is better work in Tulsa."

"But you can't make me leave!" I cried.

"We're going and that's final, young lady," my father said, sternly. "End of discussion."

I groaned loudly and stomped my way up the stairs to my bedroom. "I'm not going!" I yelled down the steps before slamming my door shut.

I leaned back against my door and stared out the window into the night. It was too dark out to be able to see the field of a back yard we had, but I could hear the corn stocks rustling with each gust of wind. I sighed. This wasn't fair.

Windrixville was a small town just over three hours away from Tulsa. Much too far to be able to take a daily trip back to see my home or my friends. All my life people had told me that there would come a time when I wouldn't be as close to those that I've grown up with. I'd never believed them until that moment. Is that what was going to happen?

I walked over to my window and opened it enough for me to be able to slip out. I took a few light steps on the flat roof and then climbed down the big oak tree that stood beside our porch. This wasn't the first time I'd snuck out.

My feet hit the ground and I was met by the brisk night air. I took a deep breath, catching the familiar scent of the only home I'd ever known. I slowly began to walk towards the field of corn that had always been my family's source of income. When I reached the great stocks I began to run.

Soon I was imaging myself as a bird, flying high above the world, not having to worry about the many problems in my life, however trivial they may have been. I'm not sure how long I ran for, but I soon tripped and found myself on the ground. Instead of getting up, I rolled onto my back and stared at the stars.

There were so many of them and laying there watching them made me feel as though I was very small, very insignificant. It was comforting in a way, to know that there was something bigger out there, somewhere.

As I stared at the night sky I suddenly remembered another time that I'd looked to the stars for comfort. It had been my eighth grade end of the year trip. We had gone to spend a weekend in Oklahoma City. It was the first time I had ever been away from home for more than just a night and I was missing it very much. I had gone out onto the balcony of my hotel room and looked into the vast expanse of sky above me. I was deeply saddened when I saw much less stars than I did when I was at home. It had something to do with all the lights on the street.

Suddenly, I wondered if I would be able to see the stars in Tulsa. I decided to take a mental picture of what this night's sky looked like, just in case. As I studied the stars, trying to memorize them, that feeling of comfort returned, telling me that there was something bigger out there, telling me that it lay in the streets of Tulsa.


	2. Chapter 2

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter Two**

**Disclaimer-** They ain't mine.

I awoke the next morning to someone shaking my shoulder. "C'mon, Marie," my brother's voice pleaded gently. "Wake up."

I groaned and rolled over. "Alright," he sighed. "You asked for it."

He climbed up on my bed and began jumping up and down. "Ohhh," I moaned, annoyed. "Quit it, Andy."

"Are you gonna get up?" he questioned, still jumping.

"Yes, I'm up, I'm up!" I caved. "Now would you go away?"

"Good," he sounded proud. I opened one eye to stare at my brother. He was smiling triumphantly.

"Get offa my bed," I commanded, giving his foot a shove. He jumped one last time before his feet hit the floor and he left my room.

I turned to look at the clock that sat beside my bed. Six AM!! Why was I up this early? I begrudgingly threw the covers off myself and made my way into the kitchen.

My father sat at the table, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. My mother stood before the stove cooking eggs and bacon. Andy was sitting on the counter, listening to Elvis Presley on the radio. I shot my brother a glare.

"Why did you wake me up so early?" I demanded. If you can't tell, I'm not really a morning person.

"Well, I told him to," my mother replied, not looking away from the eggs. I sighed.

"Why?" I questioned.

"We told you last night, dear," she said softly. "We're moving and we have a lot of packing to do."

"We're moving _today_?" my eyes grew wide with this news. My mother finally turned to look at me.

"Didn't we tell you?" she asked. I shook my head. "Oh, well, we want to be at the new house by six."

"New house?" my jaw dropped for a moment. "I didn't even know there was a _new house_!"

My brother grinned at me. "Surprise!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air. _How is this idiot older than me?_ I wondered vaguely.

My mother placed the eggs and bacon on the table and told us to dig in. "We have a lot to do today," she continued. "So hurry up."

After I had eaten ( I hadn't wanted to eat but my parents had made me), I went upstairs to my bedroom. This is where my mother had told me to start. I looked around, my bed, my dresser, my night stand, my pictures, my room, my home. I couldn't believe that after today I may never see it again.

I reached into my closet and began to take out my clothes and put them in the box my mother had given to me. I left one outfit out, the one I would wear today. It was nothing special, just an old t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

After I was done with my closet I began to empty the drawers of my dresser into the box aswell. I hadn't noticed before how little clothes I had.

That's when I decided to get dressed. I made my way down the hallway to the bathroom and quickly showered. After that I got dressed and puller my hair back into a messy ponytail.

The whole day we packed. We packed everything. Clothes, dishes, silverware, furniture. Everything. The only things we couldn't bring were mine and Andy's beds.

"It's a much smaller house than this one," my father explained. "There is simply no room for your large beds."

We were going to have to buy new ones tomorrow. For tonight, Andy and I would be sharing the pull out couch, and, of course, mom and dad were keeping their bed, saying that their room was big enough for it.

We loaded the station wagon and the moving van we'd rented and set off. It was a long and boring drive to Tulsa. I slept most of the way.

I was awake when we entered the city, though. We drove through the downtown area and then into a neighbourhood full of run down houses, and passing groups of tough looking boys every now and then. We went passed an open lot and I saw about six or seven boys playing football.

Soon we pulled up to a small, run-down, one-story house. I sighed, this isn't really it is it? It was nothing like our old house. Our old house had two-stories and was always very well kept. Not like this one.

We got out of the car and my mom gave Andy some money. "Why don't you two go and get dinner at that diner we saw on the way in," she suggested. "Your father and I will unpack. The two of you can explore the neighbourhood, too."

We agreed and set off down the street in search of this diner my mom had seen. We reached after only about ten minutes and went in. We didn't eat much. I don't think either of us were in much mood to eat. After we had finished and payed we left and decided to look around.


	3. Chapter 3

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter Three**

**Disclaimer-** the only ones that are mine are the ones I made up.

As Andy and I made our way back towards the house, I could hear the sound of boys yelling. As we approached the empty lot I'd seen earlier I realized it was coming from there.

We walked past the lot and I looked in to see a group of boys running around playing football. I studied the group. There were seven of them. They all looked around my age, some a little older and some a little younger. I was so wrapped up in trying to decide just how old these boys were that I didn't even see it coming, the football, that is. It smoked me right on the side of the head and I fell to the ground.

"Marie!" I heard my brother call. I could hear people running towards me. People were asking me if I was alright and someone kept apologizing. There was also manic laughter coming from somewhere.

I groaned and sat up, holding my head. "Ow," was all I said.

"Are you okay?" an unfamiliar voice questioned.

I opened my eyes. There was a bunch of guy standing around me and two crouched down beside me, Andy was one, but I didn't know who the other was. I nodded my head slowly.

"I'm really sorry," the boy apologized.

"It's okay," I assured him. "Really, I'm fine."

I looked around at the other boys. They didn't really look too inviting. They all had greasy hair except for two, one who looked like the oldest and one who looked even more dangerous than the others. They were wearing blue jeans and t-shirts, one of them had a jean jacket on and two were wearing leather jackets. One of them, with long reddish-coloured sideburns and wearing a black leather jacket, seemed like he couldn't stop laughing. I gave him a funny look. The rest of the boys followed my gaze.

"Nice, Two-bit," one of them said sarcastically. The boy, Two-bit, stopped laughing. He looked around at us all.

"Aww, c'mon guys. She ain't dead," Two-bit said. "Lighten up."

The boy sitting beside me shook his head and looked back at me. "M'name's Sodapop Curtis," he grinned then turned to his friends. "That's my older brother Darry and my younger brother Ponyboy. That's Steve Randle, Johnny Cade, Two-bit Matthews and Dallas Winston."

"Marie Stewart," I smiled back. Hooking my thumb in the direction of my brother I said, "This is my brother, Andy."

"Are y'all new?" Steve asked. "I ain't seen ya before."

"Yeah we just moved in up the street," Andy answered, pulling me back to my feet.

"So you live across the street from Johnny then?" it was a question but I don't think Sodapop really expected us to have an answer for it. Andy and I both just shrugged.

"If you say so," I replied.

"So, where ya from?" Darry questioned.

"Windrixville," Andy and I both sighed at the same time, I guess he missed home as much as I did.

"Ain't that where dad used to take us huntin'?" Ponyboy asked, opening his mouth for the first time. I assumed that he was quiet, Johnny too. I don't think Two-bit was talking because of his earlier humiliation, and Dallas, well he was the only one I wondered about.

I'm usually pretty good at reading people, but Dallas stumped me. He just stood there with a sly look in his cold eyes. His faced showed no emotion, except perhaps danger, if that even is an emotion. He scared me, to say the least. He made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time he looked at me but I couldn't help but be intrigued by him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter Four**

**Disclaimer-** I do not own the Outsiders.

Andy and I had stood their talking to the boys for nearly half an hour. When it started to get dark, Soda suggested that we head over to his place. I turned to my brother.

"Do you think we should stop by the house and tell mom and dad?" I asked.

"Well, we could," he began. "But if we did, than they would probably make us stay and help unpack."

I nodded my head, seeing his point, "True."

"So let's not," he suggested. I laughed and agreed.

We began the walk to the Curtis', it didn't take very long. Only about two minutes. Turns they lived on the same street as us. Turns out they all did. On the way we stopped at Two-bit's.

"Why don't y'all come in?" he invited. "You can meet my mom."

We entered his house. It wasn't very big, but it was alright. We stood in the living room, Two-bit had gone to put the football away. A girl, about my age came into the room. She looked at us.

"Hey guys," she said.

"Hey Carrie," Sodapop greeted. She was about to leave the room again when she saw me and Andy. She gave us a funny look.

"I don't know you," she said, confused.

"Yeah, that's Andy and Marie Stewart," Two-bit informed her, coming back into the room. "They're new."

"Well, hi," she said happily. "I'm Carrie Matthews. I apologize that you had the misfortune of meeting my brother before you met me."

I laughed, "Nice to meet ya."

"So what are you boys up to tonight?" she asked, then looked at me. "And girl, sorry."

"We're just going to Soda's," Two-bit replied. "Wanna come?"

She shrugged, "Sure. I ain't got nothing better to do."

When Carrie agreed to come I couldn't help but notice the small smile that crossed Johnny's face. He hadn't said anything yet, but I could tell from that look alone that he liked her. I told you, I'm really good at reading people.

Carrie pulled on her tennis shoes and slipped into her jacket and followed us out the door. She ran to catch up with me, and we began to walk behind the rest of them. Andy seemed to really hit it off with these guys and I was glad. He didn't have very many friends back home, I had always been more popular than him. So I was glad that he was having fun and making friends.

"So where ya from, anyways?" Carrie asked.

"Windrixville," I replied simply. She just gave me a blank stare. "It's a little over three hours away."

"Oh, okay," she said, but I still didn't think she had any idea where it was. "So, what'd ya move for?"

"Our parents decided that we weren't gettin' enough money with the farm and all," I sighed. "So they decided that we could have it better here."

She laughed when I told her that and I gave a confused look. "Better here?" she laughed. "Better on the east side? Let me tell you, this is the worst place you coulda come to if you were lookin' for _better_."

"How come?" I asked, confused.

"Well, it ain't exactly the safest place in the world," she explained. I just gave her a blank stare, wanting her to continue. "The boys didn't tell you? Well, ya see, there's two different groups in this town. The greasers, us, and the Socs. The Socs are the rich kids that live on the west side, and they _hate_ us. They'll come over here and look for a lone greaser to jump just for fun. And, of course, nobody ever sticks up for us, at least nobody that can do anything about it, because we're greasers and they're Socs. We're trash and they're gold. We're the spawn of Satan and they're Gods."

I sighed, "I guess life ain't fair, huh?"

She laughed, "That's an understatement."


	5. Chapter 5

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter Five**

**Disclaimer-** I do not own the Outsiders.

The Curtis house wasn't anything spectacular, pretty small and rundown, but, then again, so was the place we just moved into. I sat down on the couch, Carrie sat beside me. Soda and Steve were going to show Andy around.

"So, Andy, want the grand tour?" Soda had asked enthusiastically.

"More like the 'great' tour," Steve said.

"Kind of a 'good' tour actually," Soda thought aloud.

"Closer to an 'okay' tour," Steve said, thinking.

"A 'pitiful' tour really," Soda sighed.

"Would you idiots shut up?" Dallas snapped, as he sat lounging in one of the chairs. Soda and Steve both laughed and led my brother into another room. I was surprised at Dallas' sudden outburst, he hadn't said very much since I'd met him, I think he was sizing me up. That's what made me so nervous about him. The other guys had all seen us and immediately were fine with us. For some reason, though, Dallas had taken longer to trust us.

"So, just how much do you know about the boys?" Carrie suddenly whispered to me. I shrugged.

"Not much, I guess," I replied.

"Well, than I'll give you the run-down," she began. "Me and Two-bit, our dad took off when we were just kids and our mom works a lot. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis died in a car wreck a few months back. Darry's Pony and Soda's legal guardian now. Steve's dad kicks him out at least once a week. Johnny's mom ignores him, unless she's hacked off, then the whole neighbourhood can hear her screaming at him and his dad likes to knock him around a lot. You'll get used to seein' Johnny bloodied up. And Dally, he's pretty much got no one, he never goes home I don't think, and he's got a record a mile long. He gets hauled in for everything, even if he didn't do it. He can be a pretty decent guy though, he kept Two-bit outta the cooler once."

"How?" was all I could get out. It was amazing, so much had happened to these boys but it hadn't made them bitter, well except for Dallas anyway.

"Two-bit broke out the windows of the school building once, but Dallas got hauled in for it. He knew Two-bit'd done it too, but didn't say anything, just took the sentence," she explained.

I sat back, thinking this over. They all came from broken homes with broken families. And I had been complaining about moving. At least my parents were both still around. At least they didn't kick me out or ignore me or hit me.

After awhile, Steve, Soda, and Andy came back. Two-bit produced a deck fo cards and they started dealing for poker.

"Who's in?" Two-bit asked. I joined and so did Carrie and Dallas. So me, Carrie, Soda, Steve, Two-bit, Andy and Dallas all played a few hands of poker. After a little bit, though, it started to bore me.

"Let's play Kings," I suggested. Andy smiled and nodded his head but the rest of them just gave me a blank stare.

"Play _what_?" Steve asked.

"Kings," I replied simply. "It's a drinking game."

"I'm in!" Two-bit said excitedly.

"How do you play," Dallas questioned, a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

"It's real easy," I began. "You set up the cards in a circle," I said, taking the deck of cards from Steve and spreading them out around Two-bit's beer bottle, which I had moved into the centre of the table. "Then you pick up a card and depending on what it is, you have to do something and someone ends up drinking."

"So what do all the cards mean?" Soda asked.

"An ace means that you have to make up a rule. It can be anything," I explained. "A two is for you, so after you pick it up you say 'two is for you' and point to someone and they have to drink. Three is for me, so if you pick up a three than you have to drink. Fours are for whores, so all the girls drink." they all laughed at that. "If you pick up a five, you have to put your thumb on the edge of the table really quick, last one to put their thumb down loses. Six is for dicks, all the guys drink." they laughed again. "Seven is waterfall, that's where everybody starts drinking at the same time, but you can't stop till the person to your left stops and the person that picked up the card stops first. Also, you can't finish your drink unless the person to your left hasn't stopped drinking yet. Eight is never have I ever, you say 'never have I ever' and then something you haven't done, and whoever _has _done it, has to drink. Nine is rhyme. You pick any random word and you have to go around the table rhyming it, whoever screws up drinks. Ten is categories, you pick any category, and go around the table saying things that belong in that category, again, whoever screws up drinks. Jack is a joke, you have to tell a joke and whoever laughs has to drink, if no one laughs than you have to drink. Queen is the question game, you go around asking random questions, you can ask anyone except for the person that asked you and you _can't_ answer the question. And, a king, is everyone drinks."

"It's real fun," Andy said, trying to get everyone to play.

"I'll play," Carrie smiled. That didn't seem to make Two-bit happy, but he didn't object. The rest of the boys also said they'd play even Johnny and Pony when I said that they didn't have to drink beer.

"Wait," Andy suddenly said. "If we get drunk we're not going to be able to go home."

I sighed, "Yeah."

"Y'all can stay here," Soda suggested.

"Well that's fine for him," I said. "But I hardly think my parents are gonna be okay with me stayin' the night in a house fulla boys."

"Then you can stay at my place!" Carrie replied happily.

"So, it's settled then," Andy said. "Let's go tell mom and dad."

"I'll come with you," Carrie volunteered.

"Me too," Sodapop said. "You probably need a delegate from each household."

"Oh, big words, Sodapop!" Two-bit laughed.

The four of us set off in the direction of my house. Once we arrived we found my mom and dad had brought in the couch and a whole bunch of boxes. My mom was sitting on the couch and my dad was trying to hook up the TV.

"Anything yet?" my dad asked as we entered the house.

"No, Richard, nothing," my mother sighed. He'd probably been at this for awhile now. "Well look who finally decided to come home."

"Yeah, hey mum," I said.

"Who's this?" my father asked, seeing Soda and Carrie.

"This is Sodapop Curtis and Carrie Matthews, they live in the neighbourhood," my brother replied. "We were wondering if maybe we could stay over at their houses tonight."

"Oh, I don't know," my mother looked weary. "Are your parents going to be home?"

"My mother will be there," Carrie answered.

"My died a few months ago," Soda began, looking down for a moment. "But my older brother'll be home."

"And, how old is he?" my father asked.

"Twenty," Sodapop smiled. I was glad that Soda smiled at that point, he had one of those smiles that you just can't say no to.

"Where exactly do you live?" my mom questioned.

"I just live across the street," Carrie replied, pointing it out through the window.

"And I live a few doors down," Soda answered.

"Well, I suppose," my mom, still a little bit suspicious. I smiled.

"Alright, see ya in the mornin'!" I called as we ran back out the door, not giving my parents a chance to change their minds.

We went back to Soda's place. When we walked in they all looked at us expectantly.

"And the verdict is...?" Steve asked.

"We're playing kings!" Andy called happily and they all cheered.

"I'll get drinks," I said, making my way into the kitchen.

I went to the fridge and pulled out seven bottles of beer and two bottles of soda. I set them down on the counter and suddenly the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I turned to see Dally staring at me.

"Hi," I said, wondering why he was there.

"I thought you might need some help," he said simply. I turned back and picked up all the bottles at once then turned back to him.

"And I think you underestimated me," I replied and walked past him, out of the room. I couldn't believe I'd done that. I'm usually not like that. There was just something about Dallas Winston, though, something that told me not to let my guard down.


	6. Chapter 6

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter Six**

**Disclaimer-** I do not own The Outsiders.

That night, as I sat in Carrie's room, I couldn't help but laugh at what had happened. We had been playing Kings, and Two-bit had gotten completely wasted. He had always seemed to lose at everything. He even drank when a four came up and only Carrie and I were supposed to drink.

"Whatcha laughin' at?" Carrie questioned. She had turned out to be exceptionally good at Kings, only having to drink when a four, a king or a seven came up. She never lost any of the games.

"Just yer brother," I replied. She laughed too.

"So what was with you and Dallas tonight?" she asked, changing the subject completely. After the events in the kitchen I had done my best to ignore him, but the hairs on the back of my neck wouldn't go down, he had been staring at me all night.

"I dunno," I replied, shrugging.

"I think he likes you," she blurted out.

"What?" I asked, astonished, but there was something inside of me that smiled when she said that. "What makes you say that?"

"Look," she began. "I've known these boys for _years_. I can pick up on the subtle hints they give off when they like a girl."

I laughed inwardly at that. Yeah, she could pick up on the subtle hints, but she couldn't see Johnny staring at her from across the room.

"Okay," I said, thinking. "So, say he _does _like me. What should I do about it?"

"Well, do you like him?" she asked. I thought about it for a minute.

"I don't really know," I answered. "I mean, I just met him. I barely know the guy."

"Well, until you're sure, play hard-to-get," she advised. "Dally likes 'em that way."


	7. Chapter 7

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter Seven**

**Disclaimer-** I do not own The Outsiders.

The next morning I awoke to the smell of eggs. I opened my eyes. I was lying on the living room floor, Carrie, also on the floor, not far away. We couldn't decide who would get the couch last night so we'd agreed to both sleep on the floor. Then I realized that if Carrie was still asleep and Two-bit was at the Curtis', who was making breakfast?

I got up and went into the kitchen. There was a woman standing before the stove, she looked tired. She had bags under her eyes and her hair was a mess.

"Hello?" I questioned. She turned.

"Oh, hello dear," she smiled politely at me. Despite my earlier thoughts about her, when she smiled she was very pretty. I don't just mean in the way she looks though. There was something very warm and inviting about her smile and she didn't look so tired anymore. "I'm, Karen, Carrie's mother."

"Oh, hello," I smiled back. "It's very nice to meet you. I'm Marie Stewart. I hope you don't mind that I stayed here last night."

"Oh, don't worry about that," she assured me. "Johnny is usually asleep on the couch in the morning, anyway. I assume he stayed at the Curtis's last night?"

"Yes, he did," I replied and she seemed relieved.

"Sit down, honey, the eggs are almost ready," she told me.

"Oh, no. That's alright, you really don't have to," I replied.

"You sit down and don't argue," she said, it wasn't exactly a command, more of a demanding suggestion, but I sat all the same.

I held up my arm, shielding my eyes from the sunlight coming through the window. I may not be as bad at Kings as Two-bit turned out to be, but I wasn't as good as Carrie either and I had a small hangover.

Mrs. Matthews set a plate of eggs down in front of me and told me to eat up. She sat down at the other end of the table.

"I've never seen you before," Mrs. Matthews began. "Do you go to school with Carrie?"

"No," I replied. "My family just move in across the street. My brother and I met the boys last night and as we were heading over to the Curtis' Two-bit stopped here and that's how I met Carrie."

"Oh, so you know Keith?" she asked. I gave her a confused look.

"No," I answered. "Who's Keith?"

"My son," she replied.

"Carrie and Two-bit have a brother?" I asked. She laughed.

"No, no dear," she explained, realization in her eyes. "Two-bit's real name _is _Keith."

"Ohh," I replied, understanding. "Then, yes, I have met Keith."

She laughed slightly. "So where did you move from?" she asked.

"Windrixville," I replied politely.

"Hmm, I don't think I've ever been there," she thought aloud.

"It's a little over three hours away," I informed her. "Pretty small, too."

Just then, Carrie stumbled into the room. "G'mornin'," she said drowsily.

"Good morning, dear," Mrs. Matthews said. "Where's Keith?"

"Curtis," she yawned. "And you know he hates it when you call him that."

"Well, he's not here right now," Mrs. Matthews replied. "So we just won't tell him."

I smiled, they seemed like a nice family. Why would their father ever leave this? Mrs. Matthews seemed to have a good relationship with her children, and both Two-bit and Carrie were great. I just couldn't understand what would compel him to leave.

After we'd eaten, Carrie and I got showered and dressed and headed over to the Curtis' to wake up the boys. When we arrived, we found just what we'd expected to, Johnny on the couch, Andy, Two-bit and Steve on the floor, and Dallas on a chair, all asleep. The truck wasn't out front and Carrie told me that Darry was probably at work.

"He started working two jobs to keep them together and it still wasn't enough," Carrie explained. "Soda had to drop out to work full time and they still barely scrape by."

"So," I began. "How do you think we should go about waking them up?"

"As loudly and annoyingly as possible," she answered, a mischievous smile crossing her lips. I nodded my head, matching her smile and we went into the kitchen. She opened one of the cupboards, it was full of pots and pans. She pointed to one of the drawers, I opened it to see that it was full of kitchen utensils. I took out two wooden spoons and tossed her one. She took two frying pans from the cupboard and handed it to me.

We went out into the living room and stood up on the arms of the couch, careful not to make any noise.

"One, two, three!" she whispered and we both started banging on the pans. All the guys woke with a start.

"What the hell?!" Two-bit yelled. Carrie and I started laughing uncontrollably. We reached over Johnny, who was still on the couch, and clanked our pans together. I fell getting back into and upright position, but, and I'm not sure if this was lucky or unlucky, I landed on Dallas.

The entire room went silent at that. Whether the other guys had picked up on those same subtle signs that Carrie had, or if they were just waiting for him to blow up on me, I'm not sure. I quickly pushed myself off of him. I heard him laugh lightly and he lit a cigarette.

By this time Soda and Pony had come running into the room. "What was all that noise?" Soda asked.

"Ask these two idiots," Steve replied pointing at me and Carrie.

"Hey!" Carrie said, offended. "I am not an idiot! Marie on the other hand..."

I threw my wooden spoon at her and the guys laughed. "It was her idea!" I shot back.

"Tattle," Carrie mumbled.

"Would you two stop actin' like a couple 'a five year olds," Two-bit grumbled. We all gave him incredulous looks. "What?"

"Stop actin' like five years olds?" Carrie repeated. "Like you can talk about _not _actin' like a five year old!"

"Oh, ha ha," Two-bit laughed sarcastically. I saw my brother look at the clock. It was almost ten.

"Shit," Andy mumbled. "Marie we gotta go."

I sighed, "Yeah."

I was sure that we were gonna have a lot of work to do today.

"Well, hey," Soda began. "If y'all can get out before lunch why dontcha meet us at the Dingo?"

"Sure," I replied and I saw Andy smile. We said our goodbyes and set off for the house.

"Hey, Marie?" my brother asked once we were on the sidewalk.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Ya know that Dallas guy?" I nodded. "Be careful around him, okay?"

"What for," I asked, truth be told, I still wasn't about to let my guard down with him yet, but I was still interested to know why Andy was worried about it.

"I dunno," he replied. "I just don't trust him."


	8. Chapter 8

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter Eight**

**Disclaimer-** I do not own the Outsiders.

"Where's dad?" Andy asked once we got inside the house. My mother was in the kitchen, unpacking dishes and putting them in their cupboards.

"He went to get you two beds," she replied.

"What? So we don't even get to pick our own beds?" I complained.

"Well, you weren't home," she said simply. I rolled my eyes. It was still only ten. He couldn't've waited a little bit?

"Don't you roll your eyes at me, young lady," my mother scolded.

"Mmhmm," I mumbled and went to my room to unpack. My dresser, nightstand and desk had already been brought in. There was also my boxes lying on the floor. I opened them and started to take out my clothes.

My parents were right, it was a very small room. I missed my big room, with my big bed, that was so easy to sneak out of. I started to put my clothes into the drawers. Once they were full I began to fill the exceedingly small closet. I said before that I don't have very many clothes, but they barely fit into this closet, it was so small.

After I had managed to cram all of my clothes into their rightful place, I went back into the living room. "Mom," I called. "Where's my bookshelf?"

She came out of the kitchen. "Is it not in you room?" she asked, I shook my head. "Hmm, check your brother's room, your father might have put it in there by mistake."

I made my way to Andy's room. He was sitting on his dresser, staring out the window. All of his boxes were empty and I assumed he was waiting for dad to come home with his bed.

"Knock, knock," I said as I entered. He turned.

"Oh, hey," he replied, sliding off his dresser. "What's up?"

"Do you have my bookshelf?" I asked.

"Umm," he looked around. "No, I don't see it. Although I do see _my _new bookshelf."

I followed his gaze, it was my bookshelf, with all his stuff on it. "That's_ mine_, jerk," I replied, walking over to it and taking his stuff off. He didn't complain or try to stop me. He knew it was mine.

"Johnny lives across the street, right?" Andy asked suddenly.

"Yeah, that's what Soda said," I answered.

"There's been a lot of yelling coming from the house across the street," he said, staring out the window again. I listened and I could faintly hear the sound of yelling. Andy had very good hearing. I sighed.

"Carrie told me that his mom yells at him whenever she's hacked off and that his dad knocks him around a lot," I informed him, walking over to stand beside him. You could see Johnny's house from there. I knew Andy was going to hate having to sleep there with Johnny's parents across the street. Being able to hear them yelling at him all the time was going to really bug him.

Andy and I both looked away from Johnny's house when we heard a car door shut. Dad was home. We went into the living.

"Andrew," my father was the only one that used my brother's full name. "Come out here and give me a hand with these beds."

They brought in Andy's bed first, then mine. I went into my room and began to make my bed. A few minutes later Andy was at the door with my bookshelf.

"Here," he said putting it down. "I'm goin' to the Dingo to meet everyone. See ya."

I sighed, I was really hoping to get to go to lunch today. I looked at the clock on the wall, it was still only eleven thirty, maybe if I worked quickly I could get out in time.

I began to put all of my books and random knick-knacks onto the shelves. It took me about a half hour to get it set up just the way I wanted. I had nothing more to do so I decided to go to the Dingo and see if everyone was still there.

"Mom," I called as I made my way into the kitchen. "I'm done, so I'm gonna head over to the diner and meet Andy and our friends for lunch, okay?"

"That's fine," she replied. "Don't be too long. I want you home for dinner."

I made my way out the door and down the street, there was no sign of any of them and the Curtis house seemed empty so I assumed that they were all still at the Dingo.

I turned onto a street called Sutton, it wasn't far now, when I heard an engine rev behind me. I turned around and saw a black Mustang was following me. It confused me, I didn't know anyone with a Mustang. The car came to a halt beside me and five well-dressed boys stepped out.

"Hey, grease," one of them said.

"Excuse me, do I know you?" I asked.

"Not yet," another replied. "But you're about to."

That made me nervous. Who were these guys? But then I remembered something that Carrie had told me, _'The Socs are the rich kids that live on the west side, and they **hate **us. They'll come over here and look for a lone greaser to jump just for fun.' _Uh oh, I guess these guys are Socs, and I'm walking alone.

I gulped. "Look, can't ya just let me go?" I pleaded. "I mean, I ain't got no money or anythin'"

"You think if we were lookin' for money we'd come to the _east side_?" one of them laughed and so did his buddies. I could feel the fear growing inside of me. "No, I can think of much better things to do to a pretty girl like you."

He looked me up and down and smiled.I started crying then. "Whatsa matter?" a fourth asked. "You greaser whores should be used to it by now."

I just continued to cry and started to shake my head. "Shut her up!" I heard one of them command and suddenly I was hit in the face. I hadn't been expecting the blow and I fell to the ground. That was my second mistake, the first being that I was walking alone. Suddenly one of them was on top of me, a blade held to my throat. "You scream, and you die," a cold voice threatened. I whimpered.

Soon I could feel him unbuttoning my shirt. I struggled, trying to get him to stop but he just hit me a few times. "Stop fighting it," he commanded. I was fading in and out of consciousness and the last thing I remember before my world turned black was yelling and pounding footsteps.


	9. Chapter 9

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter Nine**

**Disclaimer-** I do no own the Outsiders.

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I was not lying on the concrete sidewalk anymore. _Where was I?_ I thought, scared. _What had happened to me?_

I tried to lift my head but it was pounding. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. I recognized this place, but it took me a minute to place it. It was the Curtis' living room.

"Hello?" I called, figuring that if I was here someone must be home. I could hear footsteps coming into the room.

"What the hell'sa matter with you?" the cold voice of Dallas Winston demanded. "What were you doin' walkin' alone?"

I groaned. "I was goin' to the Dingo," I replied. "What happened?"

"Ya got jumped, that's what happened," he sounded quite angry and I didn't really understand why. "If I hadn't come along they coulda killed you."

"Well, than thanks," I said, annoyed. "Where is everyone?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" why was he so mad at me? I sat up, rather painfully, to look at him.

"What _is _your problem?" I questioned, angrily. "It's not like you care whether I get killed or not. You hate me!"

"Who says I hate you?" he seemed a little bit shocked.

"I'm not stupid," I shot back. "I can tell when someone doesn't like me."

"Obviously not," he muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"I never said I hated you," he answered. "I never said I didn't like you."

"You never said you did," was my reply.

"Yeah? Well did Soda or Two-bit or any of the rest of them?" I thought about that, and, truth be told, they hadn't.

"So, you saying you do like me?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Maybe," he seemed like he didn't want to answer.

"It's a 'yes' or 'no' question, Dallas," I replied.

"Yes, alright?" he snapped. "Jeez."

"Well, thank you, Dally," I said sincerely.

"Yeah, well, don't walk alone anymore," he was a lot calmer now. "You alright?"

I sighed. "Yeah, I think I'll live," I answered. "My head is poundin' though."

He got up and went into the bathroom when I said that. He came back with a couple Aspirins and a glass of water.

"Here," he said, handing it to me. I was surprised by his generosity. I gladly took it and lay back on the couch.

"So, how come you weren't at the Dingo with the rest of them?" I asked, just to be saying something.

I heard him sigh. "I had somethin' to take care of," he answered. I gave him a curious look and saw that he was playing with the ring on his finger.

I hadn't seen it before so I assumed that the something he had to take care of was getting it back. I figured he'd broken up with his girlfriend.

I could feel myself starting to trust Dally more and more, and something about that scared me. Really scared me.


	10. Chapter 10

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter Ten**

**Disclaimer-** I do not own the Outsiders.

Dallas and I sat in silence for I don't even know how long, probably not as long as it felt, before the guys and Carrie came home. When they saw me they all started asking what had happened. It really wasn't helping my headache much. Dallas must have noticed this.

"She got jumped," he told them. "Walkin' to the Dingo to meet y'all."

"You alright?" Andy asked, concerned.

"Yeah," I answered. "Dally came along before they could do any real damage."

They all turned to look at Dallas. They looked shocked. I can understand why, Dally isn't exactly the heroic type, I could tell.

"Really?" Two-bit asked. "_You_?"

"Why is that so shocking?" Dallas asked.

"Well," Two-bit shrugged. "I just didn't know you had it in you."

"Had what in me?" Dally wanted to know.

"Well, ya know," Two-bit said reasonably. "Nice."

I think Dally would've slugged him right then and there if I hadn't started laughing hysterically and broken the tension in the room. I couldn't help it, I just thought it was so funny. And, because laughter is contagious, everyone else was soon laughing. Even Dallas had a small smile on his face.

"So you're okay then?" Andy asked once we had all caught our breath. I smiled at him.

"Yes," I replied. "I'm okay."

Sometimes I think Andy is too protective of me, sometimes I'm grateful for it. But I knew that the only reason he was so scared was because he had jumped to a wrong conclusion when he walked in to see my bruised and alone with Dallas. He still didn't trust Dally, even though he may have saved my life. I trusted him though, he had been there to help me when I needed it most. And there was just something about the conversation we'd had earlier that told me that I would always be able to count on him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter Eleven**

**Disclaimer**- I do not own the Outsiders.

Of course, when I got home that night my parents made a big fuss over me. I told them the truth about what had happened to me but they didn't believe me and told me to stay away from Dallas. I just don't get it, he saved my life, why doesn't anyone trust me around him?

That was about three days ago, Andy and I hadn't seen the gang since the day I got jumped because we had so much to do around the house. I, personally, think that they were just trying to keep us away from the guys. Especially Dally.

Finally Andy and I managed to get out of the house and the first thing we did was head over to the Curtis'.

"Should you really be goin' there?" Andy suddenly asked me.

"Why not?" I questioned back.

"Well, Dallas'll probably be there," he explained.

"So?" I really didn't see his point.

"Mom and Dad don't want you around Dally," he said like it was the most obvious thing on the planet.

"Are you still gonna hang around with him?" I asked. He nodded. "Well, then so am I."

"If Mom and Dad find out, you're gonna be in a lot of trouble," he warned.

"Then don't say anythin'," I replied. "Besides, you know how dumb it is, me not bein' able to see Dallas. He saved my life."

My brother sighed, "Yeah, I guess."

When we reached our destination, we walked in without knocking, as we had been told to do.

"Well, hey! Look who it is," Sodapop smiled when he saw us. "Haven't seen you two in about a year."

"Three days Soda," Andy corrected him as he took a seat on the couch.

"And how are you doin' Miss Marie?" Soda asked, looking up at me.

"I'm fine," I replied. "Not so bruised anymore."

"So where you two been?" Carrie wanted to know.

"We moved in five days ago," Andy laughed. "We _do _have to unpack at some point."

"Oh," Soda said. "We were thinking that maybe after Marie's little incident that your parents weren't letting you outta the house."

"Yeah I got that vibe from them," I replied.

"So what did they say when they saw you?" Two-bit asked. I sighed.

"They freaked out and wanted to know what happened. So I told them, but they didn't believe me," I answered and shook my head. "They told me that I wasn't allowed to be around Dallas anymore."

"What?" Two-bit was appalled. "That doesn't make any sense! Dallas is harmless." We all gave him a skeptical look. "Well, not _harmless_, but he wouldn't hurt you! Right Dal?"

"Damn straight," Dally replied.

"I know," I said sadly, shrugging my shoulders.

"Are you gonna listen to 'em?" Steve asked.

"Well, I'm here, ain't I?" I replied, giving them all a small smile. They all nodded their heads in understanding.

We all went o watching TV, Mickey Mouse was on and Two-bit was glued. I hadn't been expecting Dallas to come and sit down next to me but he did.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked. I agreed and followed him out to the front porch. "You sure about this? I mean, I don't wanna get you into any trouble or anythin'"

"Don't worry about it Dally," I assured him. "It's my problem, not your's."

"Yeah but I'm causin' the problem," he replied. I sighed.

"Look, Dallas," I began softly. "My parents don't know what their talkin' about. They've never even met you and you pretty much saved my life. And besides, the last time I checked, I didn't have to limit _my_ friends to the people _they_ like."

He smiled a little bit and I think it was the first genuine smile I'd seen from him. "Hey," he said suddenly, much more like his old self. "The gang is goin' to a party tonight, ya wanna come?"

I smiled at him, "Sure."


	12. Chapter 12

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Disclaimer-** I do not own the Outsiders.

"What do I wear to this thing?" I asked Carrie as I stood in her bedroom.

"Well," she thought for a moment. "Are you trying to impress anyone? A certain blonde hoodlum perhaps?" she asked, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

I opened my mouth to protest but as I did the thought of Dallas entered my head. In my only five days in town I had heard all about his reputation. Maybe I didn't know him very well yet, but it didn't seem to fit him. From what I had heard he was dangerous and cold and mean and unable to feel anything. The Dallas I knew was none of those things. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't exactly the warmest person on the planet, but he was definitely capable of feeling..._something_.

"I don't know," I finally said miserably, sitting down on the edge of Carrie's bed.

"Okay," she said softly, thinking again. "Then we'll just make you look good and see what happens."

I smiled up at her. "Sounds good to me," I replied. "But what about you?"

"What about me?" she asked looking confused.

"You tryin' to impress anyone?" I questioned, the suggestive look now on my face. She blushed a little bit.

"No," she answered, sheepishly.

"You're lyin' to me," I accused.

"Well it doesn't matter even if I do like someone!" she cried, frustrated. "Because he would probably be friends with my brother and it's like this unwritten rule that you don't mess around with your friend's little sister!"

She dropped down to sit on the floor. I slid off the bed and sat next to her. "So," I began. "Which of the guys is it?"

"Didn't you just hear me?" she asked. "It doesn't matter."

"It obviously matters to you," I replied softly. She sighed.

"Johnny," was her simple reply. She said it so softly that I barely heard it, but it had been the answer I was expecting.

Carrie let me borrow some of her clothes, I didn't really have anything that fit the occasion. She lent me a black halter top and a black jean skirt. She was wearing a light blue, sleeveless shirt with a dark blue sweater that tied up in the front and came to just above her stomach over top. It looked really good with her red hair. She was also wearing a pair of low-rise, faded blue jeans.

She helped me put on make-up, I had never really worn all that much. She didn't over do it and it looked really good. Now, don't get me wrong, I do like make-up, it's just that my dad never liked me wearing very much. I left my brown, wavy hair down, letting it fall onto my shoulders.

Carrie wore the same make-up she usually did, enough to be noticed but still not much. She tied her long hair back in a high pony tail and pulled her long bangs out in front, separating them to the sides of her face.

"You ready?" Two-bit's voice called from the other side of the door as he banged on it.

"Yeah," Carrie called back.

We opened the door and Two-bit didn't even try to hide the fact that is mouth had dropped open. "You two look real nice," he smiled. We both smiled back.

We made our way into the living room. Steve and Andy were there waiting. "Well, don't you clean up nicely," Steve said to me and Andy nodded his head in agreement. I smiled at them.

"Your not so bad yourself, there Stevie," I replied.

We sat and waited for Soda, Johnny, and Dallas to arrive. Pony wasn't allowed to go to these parties and Darry had to work early tomorrow. Soon the other boys arrived and, like Two-bit and Steve, gave their own compliments to Carrie and myself.

Once we arrived at the party I realized why Pony wasn't allowed to come. There was loud music blaring from a stereo in the living room. It was full of people, some were dancing, some were making out on the couches and chairs, some were very obviously drunk, and I saw some couples heading for bedrooms.

The boys all took off in different directions, Dallas and Johnny went to get a drink, Two-bit went to hit on some blonde girl he saw, and Soda, Steve and Andy went to join the poker game. Carrie and I stood there for a moment just checking out our surroundings when we were approached by a tall, brown haired boy. He was obviously older than me.

"Well, well," he said. "Whatta we got here?"

"Heya, Tim," Carrie greeted. "This is Marie Stewart, just moved to town. Marie this is Tim Shepard."

"Nice to meet'cha," Tim said, eyeing me up and down. "Now what's a pretty thing like you doin' in a place like this without an escort?"

"I don't really need one," I replied.

"Obviously you've never been to one of these parties before," Tim continued, draping his arm around my shoulder. "They can be pretty rough. What say you and me go someplace a little more private, huh?"

Before I could answer, a voice from behind us said, "She ain't interested, Shepard." We both turned to see Dallas glaring daggers at Tim.

"She can speak for herself, Winston," Time shot back. Both boys turned to me.

"I ain't interested," I replied coolly. Tim took his arm off of me, looking a little bit annoyed.

"Alright," he said. "I get the picture. I gotta talk to you anyway Dally."

The two boys left us standing there. As soon as they were out of earshot Carrie and Johnny both cracked up laughing. I let our a relieved sigh and shot the two a playful glare. Obviously they found it more amusing than I had.

We stood and talked for awhile before I felt someone's eyes on me. I turned to see a blonde girl I'd never met giving me a deadly glare. I'm not even kidding, if looks could kill, this would have been a massacre.

"Who is the girl giving me the evil eye," I asked turning back to the other two. They both looked past me to the girl.

"That's Sylvia Reynolds," Johnny said. "Dally's old girlfriend."

"And she hates me because...?" I wondered aloud.

"Didn't you hear?" Carrie asked. I gave her a blank stare. "Dally broke up with her the day after we met you, told her he'd found somethin' better."


	13. Chapter 13

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Disclaimer-** I do not own the Outsiders.

Carrie and I stood in the kitchen, we had gone to get drinks but there were none left.

"So, have decided about Dallas yet?" Carrie suddenly asked.

"What?" I said, looking up. I hadn't been expecting this question at all.

"Do you like him or not?" she questioned eagerly. "I gotta know. It's killin' me!"

"I told you already," I replied. " I don't know."

She gave a frustrated sigh. "No idea at all? Not even a tiny, insie, binsie feeling?"

"No!" I answered, letting her know that I was annoyed. "But...you _do_ like Johnny."

"Shh!" she quickly shushed me, panicking. I rolled my eyes, Johnny was all the way across the room. I leaned in and whispered anyway, though.

"Make a move," I told her simply. She sighed.

"I wish I could," she replied. "But you heard what I said earlier... about that unwritten rule."

"Rules were meant to be broken," I urged, giving her a mischievous smile.

"Oh, yeah," she laughed. "You're gonna fit in around here just fine." I could tell she was considering it, though.

We had a great time at the party, but at around two AM Andy and I decided it was time to go home. We said goodbye to everyone and made our way out the door.

"What are you smilin' about?" Andy questioned, seeing the huge grin that had spread across my face.

"Nothin'," I responded. Okay, so it wasn't nothing. When we had left I had caught Johnny and Carrie sitting on one of the couches, they were just flirting with each other, but, hey, it was a start. And I couldn't help but smile at it.

I hadn't been expecting either of my parents to have waited up for us, but when we got home the porch light was on. We went inside to see my dad sitting on the couch in the living room. The only light was coming from the television screen and the way it lit up his face was a little eery. When we walked in, he looked up from the TV.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked, he seemed a little bit drunk, which was odd because my dad had never been very much of a drinker.

"We told you dad," I replied. "We went out with our friends."

My father looked me up and down and a disgusted expression crossed his face. "What are you wearing?"

"I borrowed some clothes from Carrie," I responded.

"You look like a cheap whore," he snarled. That one hit me like a tonne of bricks. My dad had never, ever said anything even remotely like that to me before. I was speechless, but Andy wasn't.

"What?" he asked, outraged. "How could you say something like that to her? What the hell'sa matter with you?"

My dad looked a little shocked, Andy had never talked back to him before.

"Stay outta this Andrew," my father commanded. "This doesn't concern you."

"Like hell it does," Andy yelled back.

I couldn't take it anymore. What was happening? My brother and my dad didn't fight, my father didn't insult me like that. I ran to my room and closed the door. I crawled under the blankets and cried myself to sleep, listening to my brother and my dad fighting.

When I got up the next morning my dad was extremely hung-over, and Andy had a fresh black eye.


	14. Chapter 14

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Disclaimer-** I do not own the Outsiders.

"I can't believe he hit you," I said to Andy as we sat at the table eating breakfast the next morning.

"Believe it or not," Andy replied. "'Cause I got the proof right here."

That's when my dad walked in. He looked from my brother to me and gave us both a sorrowful look. He walked over to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. He took a large gulp of the steaming liquid than took a seat at the table next to my brother.

"Andrew," he began slowly. "About last night-"

"I don't even wanna hear it," Andy cut him off, not looking up from his cereal.

"Look, I'm just sorry about what happened last night. To you too, Marie," he apologized. Then, placing three dollar bills on the table he said, "And I know this doesn't make up for it but I'm just really hoping we can forget about this."

"You're trying to pay us off?" I asked, outraged.

"Well..." my father trailed off.

"Screw you," Andy said, shaking his head. We both left after that, not accepting his money, or his apology.

I groaned loudly, very frustrated and mad. "I can't believe him!" I called.

"Yeah," my brother agreed, much more calm than I was.

"What happened to him?" I wondered sadly.

"I dunno, Marie," Andy sighed, putting his arm around my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me. I did feel a little bit better, until I looked up at him and saw that black eye. It was going to be a reminder of what my father had done until it healed.

When we reached the Curtis' everyone wanted to know what had happened.

"I got in a fight with my dad," he said simply, staring at his feet. Now, everyone knew that Andy and I had a good relationship with our parents, so they were all very interested in what had happened. Andy looked at me, wanting for me to tell the story.

"When we got home last night, my dad called me a cheap whore," I told them, feeling tears come to my eyes. I took a deep breath and didn't let them fall, though.

"What?" Soda said and they all looked really mad, especially Dallas. I just looked down at my feet.

We sat in silence for a few minutes before I got up and went out to the porch. After a little while I heard the screen door open and Carrie sat down beside me.

"You okay?" she asked softly. I shrugged.

"I guess so," I replied.

She sighed and shook her head, laughing a little bit. "Better," she mumbled.

I gave her a confused look. "What?" I asked.

"When I first met you, you told me that your parents decided to move here because they were looking for _better_, remember?" she answered.

"Yeah," I responded. "What does that have to do with this."

"This is what I was talkin' about," she told me. "The east side ruins lives. It tears families apart. It happens to everyone over here. My parents got married for a reason, they had me and Two-bit for a reason, but my dad still left. And Johnny's family, his parents loved each other once, and, contrary to popular belief, his parents had wanted him once. It's the same with Steve and Dallas. And the Cutis boys, they were in the one happy family in the neighbourhood, and there parents got killed."

I sighed, not wanting to believe her, not wanting to believe that this was going to happen to my family. But the events of last night told me that I should stop kidding myself.


	15. Chapter 15

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Disclaimer-** I do not own the Outsiders.

We've been in Tulsa for a few weeks now, my dad is getting drunk more and more often and him and my mom have started fighting. Every time my dad does something to me or Andy he tries to pay us off the next morning. Andy and dad fight a lot now and every once in a while dad'll hit him. He hasn't hit me, though. At least, not yet. He still yells at me a lot, though.

I was sitting on the front porch at the Curtis'. Andy was inside, Darry was cleaning a large gash my father had put in his forehead. It would scar and then we would have a constant reminder of what my father was doing to us. Suddenly someone was standing over me. I looked up. It was Dally. He sat down next to me.

Over the past few weeks, me and Dallas have become pretty good friends. I don't think any of the rest of the gang understand the relationship we have. Hell, I don't even fully understand it. I still wasn't sure if I liked him yet. The hairs on the back of my neck still stood up when he looked at me. It was a feeling that I found my self longing for.

"He never hit you did he?" Dally asked. I sighed.

"No," I replied. "He just yells at me a lot."

"You okay?" Dallas asked, a cigarette hanging from the corner of his lips.

"I dunno," I shrugged.

"Here," he said, holding a cigarette out to me. I gave him a wary look. "Calms your nerves."

I took it. My nerves needed calming. Andy had started smoking about a week ago and the guys had been asking me if I wanted a cigarette for a while now. I put it between my lips and Dally struck a match. He lit it and I took a drag. I started coughing about two seconds later. Dallas laughed at me.

"You'll get it eventually," he assured me. "So, what's with Carrie and Johnnycakes?"

I was glad he had changed the subject. Carrie and Johnny were getting closer and closer with each passing day. There was nothing official yet, but they had been out together a few times. Two-bit was starting to trust Johnny less and less, that was the only problem.

I shrugged at Dally's question. "I dunno," I replied. "But I really hope Two-bit don't get too mad at Johnny about it." I took another drag off my cigarette, I coughed a little this time, too. But Dally was right, it was calming me down.

"Nah, he won't," Dallas said, shaking his head. "He knows better than that."

I had been a little bit wary of trusting Dally at first, but now, it's hard to believe that I could have ever not trusted him. I keep going back to that reputation he has, though. I still can't find all that in him. He will always listen to me when I need someone to talk to. The thing is, though, he never tells me anything about him. Maybe that's why people think he's unfeeling, because he doesn't openly let everyone know what he feels.

A lot of people might think that means he tough and cold and mean, but I know the truth. It's fear. He's afraid that if he let's his feeling show that he'll get hurt. I haven't yet decided if he's taking the right road, though. Not yet.


	16. Chapter 16

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Disclaimer-** I do not own the Outsiders.

Five weeks in the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma and my parents decided they wanted their old life back. They wanted to move back to Windrixeville. I couldn't believe it. First they make us leave home to move to a strange new place, and then, right after we make friends, they tell us that we are going back.

Now, you might think that this would make me happy, I mean, I didn't want to move here in the first place. But it didn't. I had never had friends like these, neither had Andy. I mean, sure we had had friends in Windrixeville, but not like these ones. Our old friends were just that, _friends._ The gang had become like family. Windrixeville wasn't home anymore, this was.

Andy and I both flat out rejected the idea to go back. There was absolutely no way we were going back there.

"Well, I'm goin'," my father said angrily. "Whether you're comin' with me or not!"

"Look," my mother sighed. "This is our last chance. It's either this, or your father and I get a divorce."

"If you two get divorced does that mean we won't have to be around him anymore?" I questioned, giving my father a dirty look.

"Well, I suppose," my mother answered.

"Divorce," Andy and I said in unison.

"Now look here you two," wow, my mother was angry, she never gets angry. "You are going back and that's that."

"No," I said simply.

My mom sighed, trying to calm herself down. "Why don't you go back, just for the weekend, and then decide if you want to stay here or not," she reasoned.

"No," it was Andy's turn to disagree.

"Okay how about this," she was getting angry again. "You two either go back, or I call child services and have that boy across the street taken away. Don't think I don't know what his parents do to him."

We wanted to disagree, but we also knew that my mother would do it. If Johnny got taken away, it would kill him. He needed the gang more than anyone did. We couldn't do that to him.

"One weekend," Andy agreed.

"And then it's our decision," I clarified.

"Okay," my mother nodded her head, back to her annoyingly calm self.

"That's bullshit!" Two-bit exclaimed once we had told the gang.

"C'mon, you don't have to do that," Dallas said angrily.

"Yeah, we kinda do," Andy replied.

"Believe me, if there was a way we could get out of it, we would," I tried to make them all see that this was something we had to do, not something we wanted to do. "And besides, it's just two days."

"Not even really," Andy thought aloud. "I mean, it's the rest of today, and then we come back tomorrow."

It was about noon on Saturday. We would get to Windrixeville at about three o'clock. The plan was that we would not leave the hotel room we were renting all weekend.

"We'll see y'all tomorrow," I said, standing up when I heard my dad honk the car horn. Andy said goodbye aswell and we made our way out to the car.

Andy and I didn't talk to our parents the whole trip in the car. Finally we arrived at this crummy little hotel in the downtown area. We went inside and sat down on the beds. Andy turned on the TV. We only got about six channels. We decided to go with Two-bit's influence and watch Mickey.

"Get outta here," my father told us as he walked past the TV and turned it off.

"No," Andy said, turning it back on. My father turned it back off.

"Now!" he yelled, raising a hand to hit Andy.

"Stop!" I screamed. "We'll go, alright?"

Andy and I left after that and started walking around town. We made our way all over the downtown, stopping to get dinner. Then we decided to go and see our old house. It was quite a walk from downtown to the house but we had done it many times before. We hadn't yet reached the house yet when we heard a car honking behind us.

We turned and it was slightly reminiscent of the time I got jumped. I recognized this car, though. It belonged to Kim Crandall, one of my old friends.

"Is that Marie Stewart?" she asked as she stopped her car beside us.

"Yeah, hey Kim," I replied. I really was hoping I wouldn't run into anyone I knew.

"Andy, you changed your hair," she said in an exceedingly fake voice. I left out that Andy started wearing grease in his hair.

"Yeah," he replied, sounding bored. She gave a fake laugh and pulled me off to the side so Andy couldn't hear what we were saying.

"Okay," she began. "What's up with your brother?"

"What do you mean?" I seriously had no idea what she was talking about.

"He's so different," she responded.

"He is?" truthfully, I hadn't noticed any changes in Andy, I was changing in the same ways.

"Yeah," she replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I guess to her it was. "He looks like a greasy hoodlum."

I looked at her, stunned. "Have you always been like this?" I questioned.

"Like what?" she asked, confused.

"Stuck up," I replied. "Snobby, _Socy_." I said that last one with a lot of disgust in my voice.

"Okay, well I don't know what 'Socy' means," she shot back, sounding insulted. "But I don't appreciate being called stuck up and snobby."

"You have haven't you?" she didn't respond to that. Suddenly I didn't want to go back to the house. I just wanted to go home.

Andy and I left Kim standing there in confusion. We didn't look back or regret it. We were going home.

Just like I'd hoped, I hadn't met anyone I knew in Windrixeville. I didn't know Kim anymore, she hadn't changed, I had. But that was the problem. I had changed and I wasn't going back. I couldn't go back. I didn't want to go back.


	17. Chapter 17

**Switchblades and Cigarettes**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Disclaimer-** I do not own the Outsiders.

It was nearly midnight when Andy and I got back to Tulsa. We had just taken the car and blatantly ignored our parents objections. We were going home and we didn't care what they had to say about it.

"Where you goin'?" Andy questioned me as I walked away from our house.

"I just need to walk," I replied.

I walked around for quite some time, not really heading anywhere. I just needed to think. I really couldn't believe my parents were doing this. It was now that I was really understanding what Carrie had meant when she said that 'life is unfair' is an understatement.

Before I knew it, I was walking through the park. I was about to head back home when I heard someone strike a match. I turned just in time to see the small flame light up the face of a boy sitting on a bench. The face of Dallas Winston.

"Dally?" I called. He looked up.

"Marie?" he questioned. I went over and sat next to him. "I thought you weren't comin' back till tomorrow."

"Well if you want me to leave..." I joked.

"No, no," he said, quickly. "That's not what I meant."

"I know," I smiled. "I just couldn't stay there."

"Why'd you go back in the first place then?" he questioned. He seemed a bit hurt.

"Mom said that if we didn't she'd call child services and get Johnny taken away," I told him truthfully.

"Oh," he replied as that sank in. "Well...thanks. Johnny wouldn't survive gettin' taken away from here."

"I know," I said softly. I looked up at the sky and remembered doing this in Windrixeville. I was right, there were less stars here.

I didn't mind the fewer stars, though. I had found something better here in Tulsa. Just like I knew I would.

"It's gettin' late, Dal," I said. "I better get goin'."

"You sure?" he asked. I took his cigarette from his hands and took a drag. I didn't cough this time. He laughed. "You're gettin' better at that," he called as I walked away.

I hadn't been expecting it but, suddenly, he caught up with me. He grabbed me by the wrist and turned me around to face him.

"I thought I told you not to walk alone anymore," he whispered. We were so close that I could feel his breath on my face as he stared into my eyes.

Then, all of a sudden, his lips were touching mine. You always hear about how sparks are supposed to fly when you kiss that one perfect person, but no sparks flew here. No, this was a celebration worthy of the fourth of July.

Maybe it was love, and maybe it wasn't...but I was going to find out.

_**THE END**_

Okay, so I just want to thank everyone who read and/or reviewed this story.

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You guys are the best, thank you all so much! I really hope you all liked the ending. If you want me to write a sequel, tell me, and if you have any ideas, tell me those too, lol.

So, till next time,

Rachel

PS. I am so happy...this is the first fic I've ever completed!!


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